#Dabeeside Exclusive: Interview with @ItsMeTc15 of Hiphopdx.com

What’s good people? It’s your boy Trav Dave and I’m back with another special interview. I remember the 1st time I met this guy. I had done a piece for a website called “Brokencool.com”, I didn’t expect anybody in my city to read it. T.C. walked up to me and said: “I seen your interview on Brokencool man, good job.” We have been down ever since. Watching his growth over the years has inspired me and made me proud. Seeing a person from Columbus, Ohio having an impact on our hip hop culture means a lot. Without further adieu, one time for my man Trent Clark.

Q.2 part question. When I think of digital platforms in hip hop. I think of allhiphop.com, Nahright, and TSS. What was your introduction to the digital world and how did you get on at The Smoking Section? Also, A lot of people might not know, but you were in the Military. How did being in the Military broaden your view on hip hop music?

A. I’m actually still in the Military. I’m a 14-year Army Reservist on the inactive side. I’ll reenlist later than sooner but it was the transition from my year in Iraq that actually birthed my actual writing career. I could always string words together but I never wanted to be the freelance writer who chased down seven different people to complete a paycheck. When I enlisted in the Army Reserve, I picked the job of Dental Assistant (91E at the time) because it had the biggest bonus but it also gave me a career focus, seeing since I was just 18 and only cared about rap and basketball, didn’t really have it at the time. When I came back from Iraq in 2006, I was slowly attaching myself back to real life and found mind ease in the growing internet blitz at the time (I was definitely one of the first people to watch “Juggernaut Bitch” on YouTube lol). My lifelong friend Marshall Ziglar hipped me to The Smoking Section at the time which was an ideal community for rap heads since it talked about the culture and gave you the music at the same time. During December 2006, I was bored so I decided to write my top ten rap albums of 2006 up in album review format and then I put them in the comments. TSS creator John Gotty told me to email me and asked could I start doing a review a week. I obliged and throughout 2007, that one review became multiples and start doing news writeups, lists and whatever else I deemed great for the audience and in a year’s time, he designated me to be the Managing Editor. And the rest, they say, is history. Long live TSS!

Q. You didn’t study journalism per se in college at THE Ohio State University. How did you develop your writing style?

A. I can remember back in middle school when a literature teacher assigned us creative writing stories, I would be so confident in my ability to entertain, I would pass them around the class to get a rise out of the other students before I would turn them in. I’ve always had a wild imagination so I guess I should have never doubted any ability to spin it into a career. But yeah, I was going to school for biology at THE Ohio State University but spent all my free time on Hip-Hop message boards expressing my opinion in the verbiage how it flowed through my head. I was an avid Source magazine writer (Kim Osorio, Carlito Rodriguez, Kris Ex, P. Frank Williams, Riggs Morales, etc.) so there was already a standard (in my mind) set on how Hip-Hop journalism should be covered. So all that developed my personal style. And you have to practice and know your audience. I remember I used a Reader Digest’s word for like an M.O.P. review — and got called out by a commenter. So with the right amount of reps, a writer such as myself was able to keep a unique tone while still maintaining that aforementioned standard.

Q. During the early days of twitter you chose to be anonymous. How did that help you when dealing with artist and how did it hurt you?

A. Well, that’s where my Twitter name came from LMAO. Living in Columbus, OH, I didn’t get to interact with the artists outside of the yearly music festivals like my peers in NYC or L.A. So when I would run up on the artists, they would be either ignoring me or giving me a deadpan look until I would say, “It’s me, TC from The Smoking Section” (or insert the other publications I’ve worked for) and watch those frowns turn into smiles. Every time! LOL. Yeah, I mean, I have peers, some warranted, some not, with bigger social media followings than me but I’ve never even taken it to heart. That’s vanity. And plus, I’ve largely been an actual editor so I’m scanning the site 1000x in one day making sure everything is up to snuff. And entertaining. But like Gotty used to say, if I shine, we shine. So it’s always a team effort as far as I’m concerned.

Q. You went from Managing Editor at TSS to Senior Editor at Hip-Hop Wired. How was that transition for you?

A. It was definitely a whirlwind. Because I uprooted myself from the 614 to live in Los Angeles to do make it a full-time hustle. The job and skill set remained fairly the same and luckily for me, I had made my way out to L.A. every chance I got so I already knew I loved the city. Several of my friends and peers were there so being engaged in the rap madness 24/7 was exactly what I wanted to be doing. I had previously known my boss (Deputy Editor Alvin Blanco) from the close-knit community us rap writers share so working with him was a tag-team effort. They’re still cooking over there too.

Q. Now you are the editor-in-Chief at HiphopDx. What is a normal day for you like there at the office?

A. I need to flip this into one of those branded advertorials like Karen Civil or somebody be doing LMAO. Imagine going to sleep — and waking up to getting emails, text messages, Slack messages and phone calls at the same damn time. I was just in NYC and my phone just shut off. With like 60% battery lol. Yeah, it’s a busy time and I’m going to sacrifice some personal time real soon to get fully caught up but I love it all the same. I took pride in doing this from the start because when Hip-Hop only started focusing on party records on the mainstream level circa 2006, there was so many dope records and full-length projects I felt needed the shine. Especially for those individuals who loved to scream “Hip-Hop is dead.” I valued being a gatekeeper in all of that. I was super early on the likes of B.o.B, the improved Curren$y, Yelawolf, Pill, Big K.R.I.T. and I’m the one to first start covering Freddie Gibbs, and those names alone have changed people’s lives for the better.

Q. You have interviewed so many people and artists over the years. Has your perception of artist you once looked up to change?

A. I never go into an interview looking to embarrass an artist so generally, the perception is always better than before. Just like anybody in life, you catch artists on a lousy day but a good journalist can dictate the conversation and perk it up. I made Killah Priest laugh out loud before so anything’s possible LMAO.

Q. This question is a theme for me. How do you feel about streaming and do you feel blogs killed the radio star?

A. I think streaming is the wave but it’s not perfect yet. Spacing out exclusive content isn’t convenient for the consumer and those are the people who need to be accommodated. Or else they’ll revolt and find the next wave. I also think grouping streaming numbers to reflect as record sales are stupid and a jig for the music industry to still post big numbers. I think those stats should be segregated and not put “pure album sales” as a little asterisk at the bottom of the page.

As for blogs killing the radio star, I think they were still creating them before social media killed the blogs. Look at Drake’s So Far Gone. Had it not blown up, it would still be a quality internet project but takes to the rabid buzz across the web, it took him outta here and got him some Grammy nominations. Wale’s “Nike Boots” and The Mixtape About Nothing. Kid Cudi’s “Day N Nite” and A Kid Named Cudi. Those are legit rap superstars. If it was the 90s, they’d be the multi-platinum guys. And the blogs did that. But when social media became what it was is today, there was too much value put into everyone having their own voice and the people stopped looking to those who actually had jobs and the bandwidth to really put immense thought into forming educated opinions. That’s why you see a scenario like Sounwave quoting Morpheus from The Matrix to quell a Kendrick Lamar leak and then everybody running wild with bad interpretations because they’re not adept at putting thought into an investigative standpoint.

We’re getting it back with the video aspects, though. Complex.com has given us Hip-Hop’s version of First Take with Everyday Struggle. I host #DXLive on our Facebook and WAV channels every week and help to put common sense back into the rap community. Ditto for Justin Hunte’s weekly YouTube show, The Breakdown, which analyzes the Hip-Hop conversations that are right underneath our noses but fail to get pushed out in 140-characters (or less). Products like that are steadily getting sizeable followings and helping put some prestige in actually covering the culture.

Q. Being that you are from Columbus, Ohio but you have worked with artists all over the world. What is about Columbus artists that stop them from going to the next level?

A. It’s their inability to see the world from a wide lens. I’m not talking about all of them but if the shoe fits, then dunk in that muthafucka! I love being a Buckeye from the best city in Ohio but when you’re talking engaging an entire planet from a Hip-Hop entertainment aspect, let’s not kid ourselves and say we have the historic ability to embellish our hoods and blocks like the guys who came up in the coastal rap capitals. NYC and L.A. lay claim to actually inventing the culture and styles. For the most part, a Columbus artist simply mimic what they know. While no idea is original, you have to convincingly put your unique spin on the product so you can have widespread appeal and reach. I won’t put the lack of exposure totally on the artists’ shoulders, either. Columbus fans don’t support Columbus artists. As of eternity. The amount of skepticism Bow Wow got well before he became a swagball was very disrespectful. Fly.Union went on a nationwide tour with Kendrick Lamar well before he was the star he was today and Kung Fu Kenny came home and coronated in Compton. What did the city do for Fly Dot U? It’s shit like that which keep Columbus just being on the map opposed to being on top of the conversation. It is what it is.

Q. Last question. Name 5 of your favorite bloggers/Journalist?

A. Everybody who writes for HipHopDX, staff, and freelance!

Thank you for taking the time out to do this interview. Big shout out to Marshall Ziglar and to Evan Clark aka DJ IQ.